The Way We Fall
by Hope55
Summary: Elena Gilbert has a twin. Zoey and Elena are reeling from the death of their parents. They are trying to figure out how to go on when they meet two mysterious brothers who are new to town.
1. Chapter 1

My story begins in the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Actually, I should say our story because this story isn't just about me. It's about my family and friends and the way our lives changed forever. It's about the way we fought, loved, lost, and won. I have to tell our story otherwise it would seem like a really long dream, like none of it happened at all. Despite all the bad this change in our lives brought us, I don't think we would have survived otherwise. So this is my family's story, but it began with a terrible accident that would define our lives forever. This accident jump started our new life.

I've lived here my whole life with my twin sister Elena and our younger brother Jeremy. Our family has lived here since the town was founded in the 1800s. It's a small town, but it's nice enough. My name is Zoey Gilbert. I am a junior in high school and Elena and I just turned 17 a couple months ago. The same time our parents died in a car accident. It was at the beginning of the summer.

School starts today and I don't know how to feel normal again. Elena writes in her diary that Mom gave her when we were 10 and Jeremy has leaned to drowning out his sadness with drugs. Weed mostly, but he's only 15, a freshman. I don't want to see him ruin his life, but then I ask myself how any of us are going to go on. How are we supposed to live normal lives when our parents are dead? I've decided to tell my story as a way to cope I guess. It's not so interesting now; I led a pretty normal life, but now our lives are anything but normal.

Anyway, our mother's sister, our Aunt Jenna, has become our sole guardian and she's great. She doesn't really know what she's doing, but I can't blame her. It can't be easy getting thrown into raising three teenagers still reeling from their parent's death. She does her best though. She was freaking out our first day of school. She got up extra early to cook us breakfast, which was a very nice gesture. Jeremy, moody as ever, just left the house without eating. I'm sure he's off to his stoner pit to get high before the start of the day. Elena and I ate breakfast happily before heading out. We decided to walk to school that first day back just to get some air. Bonnie, our friend, usually drives us in her Prius, but we declined today.

"Are you going to be okay?" Elena asked me as we left the house. I was unsure how to answer. Do I say 'I'm fine', which is what I'm going to tell everyone at school today or do I tell her how I'm really feeling. I decided to go with the truth because honestly it's kind of hard to lie to your twin. "You know, I don't know. I'm not sure how to go about a normal life anymore. I mean our lives just got turned upside down and I don't know how to go back and worry about boys and cheerleading. I'm not sure I'll enjoy any of those things anymore." I told her. She looked at me with a small smile. "I know." That was all she said, but somehow it was comforting to hear.

I knew Elena understood exactly how I felt, she didn't have to say anything else. We walked the rest of the way in silence. We got to school and met up with our friends Bonnie and Caroline. "Oh my god, how are you guys?" Caroline asked the minute she saw us running up and choked us in a hug. "I'm fine." Elena and I said at the same time. We tried to make it believable and chances were Caroline bought it because although she's a good friend, she cares more about herself and things that pertain to her. Bonnie, however, looked at us hard. She knew we were lying.

Across the hall was Matt Donovan, Elena's ex-boyfriend. She broke up with him not long after Mom and Dad died. It was just easier that way because she wanted to be alone. I understood that. Matt started at her longingly before his friend Tyler Lockwood came up to him and pushed him toward first hour. At the same moment, we saw Jeremy going into the boy's bathroom. Elena followed him in and I stayed out. She rode him about the weed a lot more than I did. Apparently though, it didn't go well because Jeremy stormed out in a huff and not long after Elena. She ran right into a guy. I haven't seen him before so he must be new. Elena apologized and walked toward me with smile. "Who was that?" I asked. Elena shrugged. "I don't know. Some new guy I guess, but he was really cute." She replied. I laughed a little. "Come on. We're going to be late."

We got to our first hour class which turned out to be history. Our teacher was Mr. Tanner. He was a nightmare of a teacher, by far the worst in the school. The first thing I saw when I walked in was that mystery guy Elena ran into. It turns out his name is Stefan Salvatore. His family lived here before when he was younger and he recently moved back and is living with his uncle in the old Salvatore Boarding House that his family build years and years ago. It's been here since before 1950. He looked at Elena and me for a minute looking mildly confused. Elena and I are identical twins so maybe he did a double take. I don't know. I didn't really care either.

The day seemed to drag on forever. Eventually it ended and we started walking down the hall toward the exit. Caroline started naming off things she learned about Stefan. Since he was a new piece of meat naturally she had to learn every piece of information about him. No doubt she was going to be running after him trying to make him notice her. When she set her sights on someone, she tried her hardest to get them, but unfortunately for her it hardly ever worked. Caroline was a bit abrupt.

Bonnie and Caroline asked Elena and I to hang out. Elena accepted. I'm sure she thought it would be a good way to take her mind off things. I declined. I just wanted to go home. Today was really hard on me and I needed to wallow in it some more. "I'll see you guys later." I told them trying to smile what I thought was a reassuring smile. By the looks they gave me, I didn't pull it off. I decided to walk home. On the way I saw a man. He was mysterious looking, dressed in black with dark hair. He stared at me for a long time. I felt kind of uneasy so I hurried home. I went to my room and took a nap.

Hours later, Elena got home and walked into my room. "Hey." She said. "Hi." I replied. "Why didn't you come with us today?" Elena asked concerned. "I don't know. I just didn't feel much like hanging out." Elena nodded. "Will you at least go to the back to school bonfire tonight?" I smiled. "Sure. Why not. It might be fun. Something I'm sorely lacking." I replied. Elena left me to change my clothes. I put on a knee-high dress and some sandals. I put a little jacket over and met Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline downstairs.

We got to the bonfire. The first thing I picked up was a beer. I saw Jeremy doing the same thing. I tried to motion for him to get out of sight so Elena wouldn't see him. Jeremy smiled appreciatively and walked away toward Vickie Donovan, Matt's older sister. She was a stoner. Not the best influence on Jeremy, but I was giving him a grace period. I saw Stefan too. As soon as Elena saw him, she smiled. He walked up to her and they started talking. Caroline looked murderous. I looked around and saw that strange man I saw earlier.

I walked toward him. "I saw you earlier today." I said. He looked at me. "I saw you too." He said. "Yeah, but you were staring at me." He was staring at me again. "You look like someone I used to know." He said drinking from a red Solo cup. "Is there anything stronger than beer here?" He asked. I looked at him. He looked a little old for high school. "You look a little too old to be at a high school bonfire." I said. "What's a high school party without someone a little too old for high school crashing it?" He replied. I smiled at him. "Well, have a good time." I said as I walked away.

The hours passed and I just sat there sipping on my beer. I watched everyone. I saw Elena talking to Stefan. They were smiling and laughing. That was a good sign. Elena deserved to feel happy again. I suppose I did too, but I just didn't know how. I could see glimpses of Jeremy drinking and smoking weed with Vickie Donovan. Bonnie was talking to Matt, who was looking over at Elena and Stefan. I saw the mystery guy wondering around. It looked like Stefan caught a glimpse of him and looking concerned. I wondered if Stefan knew him.

Then I saw Caroline walking, very determined, toward the mystery guy. She was smiling her sexy smile and flirting, at least with her body language. I laughed to myself as she practically threw herself at him. The mystery guy smiled slyly at her and it seemed to be the start of a one night stand. Everything seemed to be normal for a high school bonfire.

At that moment, everyone stopped what they were doing when a blood chilling scream filled the night air. Jeremy came running through the trees with blood on his shirt and hands. Elena and I immediately ran to him. "Jeremy are you okay?" Elena asked frantically. "It's not mine, it's Vickie. She's been attacked. It looks like some sort of animal." Jeremy panted. We all looked at each other and Matt ran over. "Show me where she is. Someone call an ambulance." Matt asked.

Jeremy and Matt ran to where Vickie laid. I took out my phone and call 911. They came not ten minutes later. Jeremy wanted to go to the hospital with Matt and I thought it was time to go home. Elena decided to come home with me, but she wanted to say goodbye to Stefan first. She searched for him, but he was nowhere to be found. I noticed the mystery guy was gone too.

Hours later, Jeremy finally came home. I was sitting on the couch when he walked in. "How's Vickie?" I asked. Jeremy looked sad. "She's okay. She'll recover, but she hasn't woken up yet. I'm going back to the hospital tomorrow to see if she's awake." I nodded and smiled a little. "Okay, night Jer." I said as I got up to go upstairs to my room. I got ready for bed and laid down. I looked up at my ceiling. What a day it's been. Now I just have to live through the rest of the days of my life. How hard could that be?

Eventually, I fell asleep. For once, I didn't have any nightmares about my parents or that night at all. I did dream about that mystery guy though. For some reason, I had a feeling me might be dangerous. I shook my head. It was a dream and I had literally spoken to him for less than five minutes. How was that supposed to be some kind of indicator as to whether he's dangerous or not.

That day at school, I went through the motions like the day before. Stefan apologized to Elena for disappearing on her last night and Caroline shared all the gory details of her night. As it turned out, the mystery guy's name was Damon Salvatore. As Stefan explained to Elena after Caroline told us about her night, Damon is Stefan's older brother. Makes sense that two people that good looking arriving in Mystic Falls at the same time are brothers.

The school day was thankfully over before it felt like it was dragging too much and the week continued much the same. Caroline had started spending a lot of time with Damon and she seemed more detached from the rest of us than normal. Elena had been spending a lot of time with Stefan. They were getting to know each other. Jeremy spent a lot of time with at the hospital with Matt. Vickie had finally woken up and seemed to be doing better.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few weeks passed in a haze. The days got easier to handle and life went on. Stefan and Elena started dating. Matt didn't like Stefan, mostly because he was dating Elena. If Matt didn't like someone, it meant Tyler didn't like that person either. Tyler was a world class dick too. Caroline grew further apart from everyone. Elena thinks it's because of Damon. I don't know though. Caroline is, to put it nicely, a very unique person.

Jeremy has been easing off the alcohol and Weed like I knew he would if we stopped pestering him. Life was getting back to, well not normal, but manageable. There were a lot of animal attacks happening though and I wasn't sure what that meant. Bonnie had also been going through a hard time. She'd been spending a lot of time with her Grams and less time with Elena and me.

It was Friday. It was game day and Elena had convinced Stefan that he should join the football team. Elena had tried giving cheerleading another shot, but Caroline was being a nightmare about it so Elena quit again Friday morning. We had our pep rally led by Mr. Tanner, the football coach/asshole history teacher. As the game was about to start, Matt was looking for Mr. Tanner and came across his dead body. Mr. Tanner had had his neck snapped and blood was everywhere. As Matt called for someone to help, everyone gathered around to see the body of Mr. Tanner. I heard the screams from the bleachers. Needless to say, the game was canceled.

I don't wish death on anyone, but Mr. Tanner really was an asshole. I can't say I was particularly sad about his death. They said it was another animal attack, probably the same one that attacked Vickie. They couldn't find it though and Vickie didn't remember anything from that night that could help identify what kind of animal they should be looking for. I guess that meant the animal would just keep attacking people. Though, I found it odd an animal would attack this close to hundreds of people, but what did I know?

We all went home after that. There was nothing left to do. The game was canceled and the police were making everyone leave the crime scene. I'm sure they were taking the body away and cleaning up the blood so it would be gone by Monday morning. I went to my room and read a book for pretty much the whole weekend. Elena went out with Stefan. He had given her a really pretty necklace that Friday before the pep rally.

Another week passed and it was now Friday again, which meant the weekend was finally here. It also meant that the Founder's Party was tomorrow. The thing about living in such an old, small town, is that they have parties all the time to celebrate different things the founders did. Saturday's party was the day the town was founded. The parties were mostly held at Mayor Lockwood's mansion. I guess because it was big enough to hold everyone. As founding family members, we are kind of obliged to be there since our parents can't be.

Elena asked Stefan to be her date and Caroline was taking Damon. I'm sure she was just trying to show him off. Jeremy didn't have any interest in going to those kind of events and he really didn't have to since Elena and I were going. Matt wasn't going either. He chose to stay with Vickie at the hospital. I think his mom was home too. Tyler was going to be there obviously. It was his house. He had this thing going with Vickie, but she really isn't someone he would bring home to meet his mommy. He asked me to be his date. I thought about saying yes because I didn't have anyone to go with, but Tyler is a douche bag so I said no. I didn't want to be that desperate woman who would go with someone that I didn't like because I was dateless. I had more self-respect than that.

As I was getting dressed in a shorter, halter top dress in my bathroom, I realized how lonely I was. I was going to a party without a date because all the guys I did know either weren't going or had other dates and I was too much of a loner to know any others. I couldn't even get my own brother to go with me. Oh well, it didn't really matter I guess.

Elena had already left to go get Stefan and Jenna had gone earlier to help get everything set up. She was also taking old Gilbert antiques over there. I was alone in the house. I got the keys to my car and drove to the Lockwood house.

I walked in alone and Mrs. Lockwood greeted me kindly. I smiled in return and went for the punch. What I really wanted was a drink, but Caroline's mom, the Sheriff, was patrolling the alcohol. Caroline was a lousy drunk. I saw Stefan and Elena dancing. I walked around looking at the different things around the house. There was a paper with signatures from the people who attended the original founder's party.

As I was reading, I saw Damon and Stefan's names. I looked closer when Damon's voice came from behind me. "The original Salvatore brothers. Stefan and I were named after them." He said. I turned around to see him in a black suit holding a glass of champagne. He looked really good, but he was here with Caroline so something more serious must be going on with them. I wondered if they're dating. "That's very interesting." I said politely, not knowing what else to say. Damon opened his mouth to say something else when Stefan and Elena came up. "Damon," Stefan said, "What are you doing here?"

Damon smiled at him. "I'm showing my support and it is the Founder's Day party and I am from a founding family." Stefan and Damon eyed each other for a minute. "Would you like to dance Zoey?" Damon asked me. "Sure." I replied. I figured I might as well dance with someone since I didn't have a date. Damon led me to the dance floor and took my hand. "How did you know my name?" I asked. "My brother told me and besides everyone in town knows who you are. I'm sure your little friend Caroline told you mine." Damon said.

"Yes, she told us everything about you. She's like a detective when it comes to guys she has an interest in." I said smiling at him. When I looked over at Caroline, she was fuming. I don't think she liked the fact I was dancing with her date. "Speaking of Caroline, I think she's pissed you're dancing with me instead of her." I told him. Damon laughed. "I'm sure she is." He said. I looked at him. He was incredibly good looking, but there was something off about him. I wasn't sure what. "Truthfully, she's a nice girl, but she's a little shallow." Damon said. "She has her good qualities." I said feeling like I should defend her. "Are you always such a good friend? She's not always saying the nicest things about you and your sister." I shrugged. I knew what kind of person Caroline is and I'm her friend anyway.

The song ended and we stopped moving. "Thank you for the dance Damon. It was nice." I said pulling away. "Are you going to go back to sitting in the corner watching people? I saw you doing it the other week at the bonfire." Damon said. I looked down kind of embarrassed. "Here, at least let me get you an adult drink." He said as he grabbed a glass of champagne from the table and gave it to me. "Thanks. You should go dance with your date before she gets too mad." I said lifting my glass a little and walking away.

Now that Damon mentioned it, sitting in the corner watching people has been what I've been doing lately. I guess I just don't know how to act around people anymore since Mom and Dad died. I sighed and walked outside to the back yard. It was lit up with hundreds of lights now that the sun was setting. Stars were coming out and it was beautiful. It made me sad as I remembered how lonely I felt. I was distant from everyone, including my family. I drank the champagne Damon got for me and walked to my car.

When I got home, I went straight to my room and laid on my bed. I didn't even bother changing. I cuddled up to my pillow and cried. When my crying episode was over, I decided to start getting out there. I didn't want to be lonely anymore and the only way for that to happen was to move on.


	3. Chapter 3

One weekend, Elena and I decided to invite Bonnie and Caroline to a slumber party at our house. Caroline was still being really distant around us. She's been wearing a lot of scarves, which is odd for Caroline. We all made dinner together while we talked. Bonnie explained the reason she's been with her Grams a lot. Her Grams told her she's a witch. She wasn't sure she believed it at first, but she's been practicing with her Grams and things have been happening.

When Bonnie and Caroline got to our house that night, we began by making dinner. Music was playing while we were talking. Bonnie was explaining what her Grams told her. We all kind of had our doubts, but Caroline thought it was a complete joke. "You can't be serious?" She scoffed. "I don't know Caroline. Things happen sometimes, things I can't explain." Bonnie said. "Grams said I had an ancestor that used to live here when the town was founded. Her name was Emily Bennett." Bonnie explained. "Why don't we try a séance or something and see if she comes." Caroline suggested half-joking. I think mostly she wanted to see Bonnie fail.

We lit candles and sat in a circle and Bonnie began speaking in what sounded like Latin. That's when things got weird. Lights started flickering and things started moving. It was getting really creepy. Finally, Caroline shouted for things to stop, but it had no effect. It seems Bonnie wasn't faking it after all and she couldn't stop it either. Bonnie began speaking in an odd fashion and started moving to leave the house. It looks like she had succeeded in contacting Emily and was now possessed by her. Whatever was happening, Bonnie took off and went somewhere. I was worried about her, but I had no idea how to help her.

After that, Caroline didn't want to be around anymore. In the middle of all the crazy that was going on with Bonnie and Emily, Caroline's scarf fell off and it revealed bite marks on her neck. "What is that?" Elena demanded. Caroline saw what she was talking about and got defensive. "It's nothing." She said trying to put her scarf on. Elena narrowed her eyes as she looked at Caroline. "Damon did that to you didn't he?" Elena asked getting angry. "It's none of your business Elena. Butt out." Caroline said getting really defensive. Caroline grabbed her things and stormed out of our house. Great. "What a wonderful girl's night this turned out to be." I said sarcastically. Elena rolled her eyes at me.

We stood at the top of the stairs for a minute. The doorbell rang out and scared the shit out of me. It was an unexpected sound that pierced my ears. "I'll get it." I said when Elena didn't move. I raced down the stairs and opened the door. It was Stefan. "Hi, Stefan. Did you not get the memo? Tonight was supposed to be a girl's night." I said as I opened the door wider for him to come in the house. Right behind him was Damon. Every time I saw him I get this feeling in my stomach. It felt like butterflies. I haven't had that feeling since elementary school.

Damon stopped at the door. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" He asked with his little half-smile. I was about to say for him to come in, but Stefan was about to say something. Before he could, Elena stormed down the stairs. "No, don't let him inside. I saw what you did to Caroline. I saw the bite marks. Now she's pushing us away and she's too afraid to say anything. I want you to stay away from her and us!" Elena shouted at him and she slammed the door in his face. I looked at her like our mother did when she was being rude. "I don't think that was necessary. If Caroline didn't like what he was doing, she would have said something or stopped seeing him. You don't have to be rude." I said. I opened the door and saw Damon walking away.

"Hey!" I called. Damon looked back and stopped. "I'm sorry about Elena. Would you like to go to the Grill and have some dinner? Our girl's night dinner was interrupted." Damon smiled a little. "Sure. I'll drive." He said motioning to me to follow him to his blue car. Not ten minutes later, we pulled up to the Grill. The Grill was our restaurant/bar. Our town is pretty small so this is where everybody comes for everything. We were seated by the hostess and given menus. "So Damon, what's your story?" I asked looking at him. He was quiet for a minute. "Well, I'm here for Stefan. Our parents died some years ago so I'm all he has left." Damon explained. "And his Uncle Zach?" I asked remembering Elena saying he lived with his uncle. Damon nodded. "Yeah, Uncle Zach lives at the old Salvatore boarding house. It's mine and Stefan's, but Zach lives there. I travel and I'm not always with Stefan." Damon said.

I nodded. "What's your story?" Damon asked me. "Well, I'm pretty ordinary. My childhood was pretty great. I've lived here my whole life. I loved my parents. They were the best people I knew. I could always talk to them. One night Elena and I went to a party. Elena broke up with her boyfriend and wanted to go home, so she called Mom and Dad to come pick us up. They picked us up and on the way home, there was an accident and our car went over the bridge. I'm not sure how Elena and I got out, but our parents died. It hasn't been that long and it's still so hard. Elena blames herself. She wanted to go to this party so bad that she skipped out on family night. I didn't want her going alone so I went with her. We are living with our Aunt Jenna, our mom's sister. She's been great, but she knows she can't replace our mom." I said looking down at the table. "Other than that, I live the average teenage life, I guess." I finished.

Damon nodded. "You're anything but average. If I were to pick out the most average person, it would be Caroline. She knows nothing of real pain. Losing loved ones that close to you is something only others who have been in the same situation can really relate to. Your friends really have no idea what it's like. Your brother uses drugs and alcohol to drown out that hole your parent's death caused. Elena, from what I'm told, writes in her journal. What do you do?" Damon asked. I laughed humorlessly. "You know, I don't know. As I'm sure you've seen, when I'm with other people, I sit on the sidelines watching them go about their lives. I don't feel like I belong anymore. Elena tries to pick up where she left off, but I just can't. There's this hole left in my chest and it feels so empty and every time someone asks me if I'm okay or how I'm doing, it just gnaws at the edges of that hole. I wonder if that hole is ever going to heal, if I'm ever going to feel whole again. I don't think I have a way of dealing with it, I just try to live one day at a time." I said tearing up.

The server brought us our food and I wiped my eyes on my sleeves. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to cry. I don't talk about it much." I explained. Damon smiled. "It's alright. That hole of emptiness never goes away. It heals a little, but it's always there. Every time someone else dies, the hole gets ripped open again, but time can heal a lot of things." Damon said before he began eating. I smiled a little. "Thank you Damon. You're the only person who has told me anything that might actually help me." I smiled again and began eating. We stayed there for a little while just talking. It was nice to relate to another human being again. It started getting late and Damon took me home. He walked me to the door. "Thank you for dinner and for talking to me. It was helpful." I said. Damon smiled. "No problem. It was enjoyable. Goodnight Zoey." He said as he walked down the stairs. "Goodnight Damon." I said back and waved.

I walked in and saw Elena in the kitchen talking with our Aunt Jenna. "Where have you been?" Elena demanded sounding very parental. "I was out." I said rolling my eyes. "Out where?" Jenna finally asked. "I went to the Grill since our girl's night was ruined." I explained. "You went with Damon didn't you?" Elena demanded again. I was getting very irritated. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes. After you were incredibly rude to him, I invited him to go to dinner with me." I said. "Who's Damon?" Jenna asked. "He's Stefan's older brother." I told her. Jenna's eyes narrowed. "How much older?" She asked. "I don't know. I didn't ask him how old he was." I said irritably.

I shook my head and left the kitchen to go upstairs. I took a shower and began getting ready for bed. That night I dreamt of Damon again and while I still had this feeling he was dangerous, there was another feeling I was feeling. I wasn't quite sure what it was.

After that night, I didn't see Damon for a couple of days. I guess that really wasn't all that surprising though. Caroline had broken things off with him not long after Elena had noticed the marks on her neck. Maybe she was embarrassed, I don't know.


	4. Chapter 4

Elena had invited Stefan over for dinner one night just the two of them so I left to go to the Grill for dinner. I asked Jeremy if he would go with me because I didn't want to look like a loner, even though I was. When we got there, Jeremy told me about Vickie. She had taken him to the place she hangs out with her friends in the cemetery. "They smoke weed and drink alcohol and do pills. When she was staying over those couple of nights, I think she stole Elena's pain medication from the accident. I told her to give it back and I left her there. I was happy to be with her, but I wanted to do other stuff besides smoke and drink." Jeremy explained.

I smiled at Jeremy. "What?" He asked. I smiled again. "Nothing Jeremy, I'm just proud of you. I know Elena has been on you about all that stuff, but I knew you would stop eventually." I said. Jeremy half-smiled at me. "Thanks, but I'm kind of worried. I haven't heard from Vickie since I left last night. I've called her a few times, but there's no answer. I'm just hoping she didn't OD or something." Jeremy said losing his smile. "I'm sure she's okay Jer. I'm sure she's just sleeping it off." I told him trying to reassure him. I honestly didn't know if she OD'd or not. It was quite the possibility.

When I got home with Jeremy, Jenna was already in bed and Elena wasn't home. I went to get ready for bed and laid in there with my door open reading a book. Elena came home late. She headed straight for her room without saying anything. I was confused by the look on her face and curious as to what put it there. I followed her to her room. She was just sitting on her bed staring at the wall. "Elena, what's wrong?" I asked. She didn't answer me. I went and sat by her. I took her hands in mine. "Elena!" I said. That jarred her and she looked at me finally. "What's wrong?" I asked again. "Oh, Zoey. I need to tell someone. I need someone to talk to." She said. I was a little worried. "Don't worry Elena, you can tell me anything." I said. "It's about Stefan and Damon." She said still being a bit cryptic. "Okay?" I asked. "You know how Bonnie is a witch? Well, and I know how this is going to sound, but Stefan told me what he is tonight." I wondered what she meant by what he _is_ , but I stayed quiet and prompted her to go on. "He's a vampire Zoey and so is Damon. I know how it sounds, but it makes so much sense."

This was shocking. I was stunned by it and I had no idea what to say. I wasn't really repelled by the idea, I mean Stefan was still a good person. I can't imagine that being a vampire would change that. It would explain a lot about Damon actually. I mean I have always sensed he was dangerous, but not that is was uncontrollable. They both interacted in society really well, but I guess they could have years of practice. I wondered how old they are. Briefly, I wondered why I was so calm about this. I wasn't having some sort of mental breakdown like it seemed Elena was.

Elena looked at me confused. "What are you thinking?" She asked. "How old are they?" I asked. Elena looked at me like I was bat-shit crazy. "Um, Stefan is 17 and Damon is 23, but they turned in 1864." She explained. I nodded. That was interesting. So Damon really wasn't that much older than me. Well, he was, by like 150 years, but he was frozen at 23. That wasn't so bad. I am thinking about the wrong things. "Zoey, Damon is responsible for all the "animal attacks" lately." Elena said expecting me to be as disgusted by the thought as she way. For whatever reason, I wasn't appalled by the idea at all. Damon is a vampire and isn't that kind of their diet. How am I supposed to look down on someone for their diet and the way they've been doing it for the last 150 years?

"Well, isn't that how they eat?" I asked Elena. "Yeah, but they don't have to kill people." She said giving me a dirty look. I just shrugged my shoulders. "Does Stefan kill people too?" I asked. Elena looked at me with wide eyes. "How could you think that?" She all but wailed. "Well, you just said he was a vampire, I don't see how that's a giant leap Elena." I explained a little confused. "No, Stefan doesn't kill people. He's a good person. He eats animals." Elena told me. I nodded. "I don't think Damon's a bad person. I just think he does bad things because he doesn't see a point in doing things differently. I mean really, what kind of incentive does he have if he doesn't care about human life? Anyway, is it really reasonable to suggest that Stefan has never killed anyone?" I said. Elena's jaw dropped. "I can't…I just…wow. Why are you defending Damon? He's the one who attacked Vickie and he's the one who killed Mr. Tanner." She yelled. "Keep your voice down Elena. You don't want Aunt Jenna or Jeremy to hear you. They're going to think you're crazy."

I was done talking to Elena about this. What I really wanted was to talk to Damon. I'm sure he could explain this better, but I wasn't really sure if we were that close. I mean he comes to the house sometimes. I think to be close to Stefan and he talks to me then. I don't know. Maybe I'll just text him, he did give me his number. Though he is a vampire, he could just eat me if he didn't want me to know. Still, I wasn't really that scared. I got my phone out and picked Damon's name out of my contacts. _Damon, its Olivia. I was hoping to talk to you about something_. I sent kind of nervously. I think most of the nerves were coming from the actual texting of Damon rather than the possibility that Damon was going to react badly. My phone buzzed with a reply. _Stefan told me he told Elena about us. I assume she's told you._ He didn't sound mad or even unreasonable then again it was a text message.

A few minutes later Damon came by the house and appeared in my room. "Damon?" I asked. I ran over to shut my door so no one would know he was here. Elena would have a bitch fit. Damon jumped on my bed and laid down on one side. "So, Elena told you about our deep, dark secret?" He asked looking casual. At first, I felt a little hesitant about going to sit with Damon. I didn't really think he was going to hurt me though. I feel if he was going to, he already would have. He can move a hell of a lot faster than me. Maybe, against my better judgment, I went and laid down on my bed next to Damon. He looked a little surprised, but quickly recovered.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Damon asked. "Well, I'm sure you know what I want to talk to you about?" I replied. Damon rolled his eyes. "I know what you want to talk about, but I meant specifically. Why not just go by the story Elena told you?" Damon asked me. I looked at him. "Well, she kind of hates you and I feel like I wouldn't get the full story from her anyway. She said you've killed some people here." I said. Damon nodded. "Yep. I've killed a lot of people over the years. I killed those stoners. I killed that asshat of a history teacher." Damon said. I nodded. I knew that. "Okay. Why?" I asked simply. Damon didn't reply at first. "Because I was thirsty and I felt like it." He finally replied.

It was a lot easier to hear this than I thought it would be. "Do you have to kill people? I mean can you control it?" I said getting slightly anxious. Damon laughed a little. "No, I don't have to kill people, but I like fresh blood. I can control it better then Stefan can. I can stop once I've started. It's really hard for him to stop though." Damon explained. I smiled a little. "Well, that makes me feel better. I no longer feel like you're going to eat me." Damon looked at me intently. "I could still eat you." He said darkly. "But you're not going to." I stated. "And why not?" He asked. "If you were going to, you would have done it by now. Either today or after the first time you saw me or in the woods at the bonfire, or the Founder's Day party, or even at dinner a couple of weeks ago. You've been alone with me a lot." I said feeling more sure as I said it.

Damon nodded. "I fed on Caroline." He simply stated. "Yes, but you haven't fed on me and I don't think you're going to." I said. Damon raised his eyebrows. "There's certain people you can stand hating you and there's some you can't." I said. "What makes you think that?" Damon asked. "Well, you do things to make people hate you. You goad them and do things you know will piss them off. You do those things on purpose. You haven't done anything that would make me hate you. You've never been a dick to me or said anything mean to me. Every time I'm with you, you're a perfect gentleman." I explained. "Well, in my time, a gentleman wouldn't be sitting in a girl's room alone with her." He said with a little smile. "Well, in this time, being a gentleman is being alone in a girl's room and not trying to have sex with her." I said returning the smile. That made Damon laugh. Damon got up from the bed. "I should get going Zoey. I have to find my brother. He's got my daylight ring and I need it back. Goodnight." He said. "Night Damon. See you around." I said smiling as he disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Stefan asked Elena if he could have a day to explain everything she wanted to know before she dumped him. Elena gave him the day. He explained Katherine and how they became vampires. He gave back Damon's daylight ring. Elena had begged him not to give it back to Damon. This brought Elena's hatred of Damon over the boiling point. Stefan had to give Damon the ring back though. After the Founder's Day party, Stefan locked Damon up in their basement for three days. Damon broke out and was going on a sort of rampage. He killed the three teenagers that were found dead and burned in the cemetery. Vickie wasn't among the dead, but I think Damon has Vickie.

Towards the end of the night, we discovered that Damon turned Vickie into a vampire. That was kind of it for Elena, I think. She broke up with Stefan that night. She came back into the house and went straight to her room where she cried for the rest of the night. She still cared for Stefan and I don't think she really wanted to break up with him, but all that information was just too much for her to handle I guess. Stefan did promise that he would help Vickie, but Elena was worried about her trying to see Jeremy. I had to admit, I was also worried about that.

Since that night Stefan and Elena's whole relationship has been stressed. Elena's still finding it hard to accept Stefan and Damon for what they are. After my conversation with Damon, I feel no aversion toward them and I've been treating Stefan the same way I've always treated him. I see no reason to treat either of them any differently. They are the same people now as they were when I met them.

Elena was a little unsure of Stefan when he asked her to go with him to the haunted house thing we were having in the gym of our school. She said no at first. I decided to get out there so I was going. I decided to go with Stefan as a friend. I'd hoped Damon was going to be there, but I didn't know if he would go to something like that. I went as Marilyn Monroe and Stefan dressed in an old 1940s Army uniform. I met him in the parking lot. "That's not a costume is it?" I asked looking at him with a small smile. He nervously smiled back at me. I didn't spend any time alone with Stefan. "Uh, no. It's my old uniform from World War II. My friend told me I had to serve as a medic and learn to be around blood. Also to make up for my past. I killed a lot of people for no reason. It was my penance." Stefan admitted. "Well, it looks good on you. I'm sure you made a great soldier." I said as we walked in.

I thought I saw Vickie briefly and was a little worried about her. I hoped Jeremy wasn't here. Elena all but ordered her to stay away from Jeremy after Stefan told her how hard it was to control the blood lust that young. He had been trying to work with her so she wouldn't kill people. Vickie was dressed as a vampire. Wow, just wow.

Not long after, I saw Elena walk in. She was dressed as a nurse. It was the same costume she'd worn the year before when she came with Matt. He had the doctor outfit that matched. I walked up to Elena. "Vickie's here." I said. Her eyes got huge. "Is Jeremy here?" She asked. "I don't know. I thought I saw him, but he had a hood on so I can't tell." I said feeling slightly anxious. "Let's find Vickie. I think I saw Damon coming in when I walked in." Elena said pulling me along through the different rooms.

We went through the whole haunted house and saw no sign of either of them. I didn't see Damon or Stefan until the very end where we all met up with each other. Damon wasn't wearing a costume. "Nice uniform, Brother. Brings back memories of the good ol' days." Damon said sarcastically. I guess they weren't the good ol' days between them. Damon and Stefan spent a lot of decades away from each other. Stefan rolled his eyes at Damon. "Maybe they're in the stoner pit." I said suddenly thinking of it. They all nodded at me and we made our way to the door in the school that leads over there.

As soon as we walked out the door, we could see Vickie and Jeremy sucking face. "That could get dangerous quick." Damon said. He nodded at Stefan and he ran to the other side of them. Damon started walking toward Vickie just as her face started changing like she was going to bite Jeremy. "Vickie!" Stefan called out. "You don't want to do this." He said putting his hands up. Jeremy looked around confused. "Damon, Stefan what are you doing here?" He asked then he looked at Vickie's face. "What the hell?" He asked. Damon started after Vickie when she started running.

I looked at the scene and felt defeated. Vickie wasn't going to stop. She was going to get them all exposed and kill people in the process. She wasn't going to stay away from Jeremy either. This was not the life I wanted for him, but neither was the life where our parents were dead. I picked up a broom and broke the handle off from the broom head. The wood splintered against my leg and God that hurt. I started walking up to the scene when Elena took the broom handle and made her own way to Vickie. Elena wasn't ready for that. She didn't have what it took to kill someone. Especially when that someone was her ex-boyfriend's sister. Vickie knocked Elena out of the way easily. Elena was knocked all the way to the other side of the pit. She fell hard and cut her leg. It looked like Vickie started sniffing at the air. She smelled Elena's blood. She crept closer to Elena.

I picked up the broom handle. I have never been so scared in my life, but at the same time I was extremely pissed. I got in Vickie's way staring at her. She smiled at me and started laughing. "What are you going to do? Poke me with your stick?" She asked. At that moment, I hated her. "No, I'm going to kill you with my stick." I said as I smiled at her. She started laughing. Her laugh was cut off when she heard Damon and Stefan stalking closer to her. She turned around and completely forgot about me. I guess I didn't come off as much of a threat.

All her attention was focused on them, so I took my chance. I knew killing her would devastate Jeremy. He was just getting over Mom and Dad, but I rather have him sad than dead. I stabbed Vickie right in her back, straight through the heart. Damon and Stefan stopped their advance and looked at me. I let the broom handle go and Vickie fell face first onto the pavement. I looked up at them. "Can you get rid of her body?" I asked as I slumped down on my knees. "I'll take care of it." Damon said grabbing her and disappearing.

Stefan ran to Elena. She was fine except the cut on her leg. Jeremy wasn't fine though. Physically he was, but he was on the floor crying. "Why?" He asked as we went to him to take him home. I didn't say anything to him. I didn't trust my voice. I hated hurting Jeremy this way. We drove home. Jeremy went straight to his room where he laid on his bed and started bawling his eyes out. "Why?" He asked again. "Why does everyone die around me?" He asked crying harder.

I left the room while Elena comforted him. I hated seeing him that way. Damon had finally gotten back. "He is crushed." I said to Damon. "I can take care of it. I can make him forget all that ever happened." Damon said. As much as I wanted to say yes, I couldn't. It wasn't fair for Jeremy to forget that. He would never heal if he did. Besides, that wasn't our decision to make for him. "Do it." I heard Elena's voice coming from the top of the stairs. She walked down them slowly. "He's going to drown in his sadness if we don't." She said this to me. I shook my head. "It's not our choice to make." I said. She ignored me. "Do it." She said looking at Stefan. "I can't. I'm not strong enough without human blood. It won't take completely." He said looking at Elena. "I can do it." Damon said. Elena nodded at him.

Elena told Damon what she wanted him to tell Jeremy. That Vickie had to leave town and get her life together. That he would miss her, but it's for the best. Damon nodded and went upstairs. While Damon was doing that, I brought Elena into the bathroom with me and started cleaning her leg before Jenna got home. "You shouldn't have done that." I said as I wiped the cut with alcohol, slightly hoping it would hurt. She winced and I felt a little satisfied. "I had to." She replied softly. "We aren't his parents Elena. He's growing up and losing Mom and Dad has already had him grow up enough to handle Vickie. It should have been his decision." I said. She looked at me for a second. "It's done." Damon's voice sounded softly by the door. "I'm going to take off now. Night Zoey. Elena." He said smiling a little. Stefan left with Damon and shortly after Jenna got home. Jeremy was finally asleep and Elena went to her room.


	6. Chapter 6

For a couple of weeks, things were still strained between Stefan and Elena. She wasn't sure she wanted the kind of life where things like Vickie happened. I was okay. Damon and I still talked regularly. It took a little bit, but I finally convinced Elena into talking all this through to Stefan. Elena went over to Stefan's house to apologize for the way she'd been acting. No one answered the door so she let herself in. When she walked in, there was a very beautiful blonde woman in a towel walking around. I heard this story from Elena because I wasn't there. She thought during the short time they weren't together, Stefan had slept with this woman. Her name was Lexi. She came home upset that Stefan had already moved on before she could have enough time to come to terms with the information we had learned.

Stefan called her to invite her to his birthday party that Lexi was throwing for him at the Grill. She didn't want to go and stayed home. I decided to go because I thought it would be a good opportunity to get out there and stop being a loner. The party was fun and everyone was drinking. Lexi was a vampire too. I was drinking alone at a table when she came up to me. "You're Elena. Stefan has told me so much about you. I didn't know it was you when you came by the house earlier. I was so stunned by you." She said offering me a shot. "Oh no. I'm not Elena. I'm her sister Zoey." I said. "Oh, Stefan didn't mention Elena had a twin." She said. "Where's Elena tonight?" She asked. "She didn't feel much like a party. I think she got the wrong impression from you." I said. Lexi frowned. "I don't sleep with Stefan. We are just friends. We met shortly after he became a vampire and I was helping him out. We've been friends ever since. I just come by every year on his birthday. He doesn't like celebrating and he can't be brooding all the time, you know."HJH

I smiled at her. I really liked Lexi. "Yeah, no, I understand. You should tell this stuff to Elena though. She just walked through the door." I said pointing to the door. Lexi smiled. "Thanks." She said before taking off. Lexi was a real nice girl. Stefan was lucky to have her as a friend. I saw Lexi talking to Elena and Elena smiling so it must have been going well. "Awesome party, huh?" Damon had come by to sit with me. I shrugged. "Not bad. Stefan looks happy. Lexi seems like a good friend." I said looking at her. Damon shrugged this time. "I guess. She's helped him a lot over the years when I couldn't." He said looking at her also. "Well enjoy the party Zoey." Damon said before walking away.

The party went on for a couple more hours. Just as it was about to end, Lexi went outside. Sheriff Forbes and some other city council people followed her. Damon was with them. I followed them because I wanted to know what was going on. As soon as I stepped outside, I saw one of the council members stick a syringe in Lexi's back. Damon went over to her when she dropped to the floor. I could only just make out what Damon said to her. "I'm sorry Lexi." He said shoved a stake through her heart. Her skin went gray and she was gone. "That takes care of your vampire problem. She must have been the one killing all those people." Damon said as he walked back up to Sheriff Forbes.

I ran back inside as Stefan and Elena were walking outside. Stefan saw Lexi's body. He couldn't run to her because Sheriff Forbes and the other council people were still there, but he was pissed at Damon and very sad. Elena went home with him. Damon walked up to me. "I know you saw that." He said quietly. I nodded. I had tears in my eyes. I knew Damon was dangerous, but that was the first time I've seen the danger with my own eyes. "I had to get the council off our backs. I have something planned that required the council to think there aren't any more vampires in town. I'm sorry it was her. Stefan will hate me more than ever now." Damon said and I could tell he was a little put out by the idea. I didn't say anything and I didn't move. I really didn't think Damon was a danger to me for some reason.

Damon was right though, Stefan hated him for this and so did Elena which made her even more opposed to any time I spent with him. It wasn't much, but we did talk now and again.


	7. Chapter 7

One night, Elena had gone over to Stefan's house to hang out with him. I dropped her off and started heading home. I was halfway home on one of the darker roads when Elena called me to come pick her back up. She sounded like she was about to cry. I guess things didn't go well. "We look like her!" She practically shouted at me. "Like who?" I asked. Before Elena had the chance to answer, I dropped my phone. Someone was in the road and I swerved to avoid whoever it was. As I started to swerve too hard and fast, my car started rolling. I didn't know what to do. When my car finally stopped rolling, I lay there feeling very sick. My head was fuzzy and I think it was bleeding. I saw the same figure that stopped in the middle of the road walking toward me. I was just as scared as when I faced Vickie, but I felt a lot more vulnerable and less confident now. Now that I know what's out there, I didn't know what it could be.

I closed my eyes thinking I could handle whatever death accompanied this mysterious person. "Zoey?" I heard my name. I opened my eyes and saw Damon. I smiled a little and passed out. I felt like I was falling into nothingness. There were no colors, there was no one. I was falling into an endless oblivion. I fell for what felt like centuries.

Finally, after falling forever, I saw a light at what I assumed was the end. I opened my eyes slowly and found that the light was the bright morning sun. I waited a moment for my eyes to adjust. I looked around and realized I was in a car driving down the road. I looked over at the driver. It was Damon. "Morning Sunshine." He said smiling. "Where are we going?" I asked confused. "Georgia." He said. "What's in Georgia?" I asked. I didn't even care where we were going. I was just glad I was out of Mystic Falls for now. "An old friend I've got questions for." Damon replied. I just nodded. "Alright." I said laying my head back down against the head rest. My head was pounding like someone was using a jackhammer inside my brain.

Damon looked at me. "What?" I asked. "You aren't going to ask me to take you home?" Damon asked a little confused. "No, I don't want to go home. I saw a man and that's why I swerved. I thought he was coming toward me, but he disappeared and it was you who saved me. It scared me, so a little time away will be good." I explained. Damon nodded. "Well, alright Georgia it is." Damon said hitting the gas pedal and increasing speed.

A few hours passed and Damon and I talked about a lot of things. My phone started ringing. "Hello?" I answered. It was Elena with her worry voice. "Where are you? I asked you to come pick me up and you never showed." Elena said. "I got in an accident on my way there. Damon saved me and now we're going to Georgia." I said feeling tired again. Elena gasped. "Why are you going anywhere alone with him?" She shouted at me angrily. "He can hear you when you yell." I said flatly. "He can hear me when I'm not yelling with his super vampire hearing." Elena yelled again. "Look, I was scared last night. Who knows who it was and I want to get away for a little bit okay. Damon's not going to hurt me. Just cover for me please." I said tiredly. I heard Elena's heavy breathing. "Fine. Damon better keep you safe. Also ask him about Katherine." She said. "Bye Zoey. I love you. Be safe." She said before she hung up the phone.

I looked at my phone and shook my head. "Why does she want me to ask you about Katherine?" I asked Damon. Damon shrugged his shoulder. "Dunno." He said. "Her and Stefan were probably talking about her." He replied. "Well tell me about her." I told him. Damon smiled a little. "She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She came to stay with my family right as I was about to go off to war. I left and came home and I'd seen how close she and Stefan had gotten and I was jealous. She was always seen with Stefan at social events because he was the better brother I guess. Our father always loved him more and thought I was a disappointment especially for deserting the Confederate Army. At night though after she said goodnight to Stefan, I would have her all to myself. It wasn't long before we found out her secret. She was a vampire and she told each of us that she loved us and she wanted to change us so we could be together forever. She had to compel Stefan, but she never had to compel me. I wanted to spend eternity with her." Damon told me.

"By this time, more vampires had come to Mystic Falls and the founding families were getting suspicious. They were trying to figure out who the vampires were so they could kill them all. Our father didn't know Katherine was a vampire until Stefan went to talk to him, to see if maybe he could convince Father vampires weren't so bad after all. Our father wasn't a stupid man and fed Stefan Vervain. When Katherine bit Stefan, she was incapacitated and sent to her death with the rest of them. I told Stefan that our father wouldn't listen to him and that is was a bad idea, but he didn't listen. We tried to save her from being taken and that's when our father saw us. He shot us both and Katherine got taken away anyway. Stefan and I died that night, but Katherine had already fed us her blood. We woke up the next morning in transition." Damon explained.

"I didn't want to become a vampire if she was gone, but Stefan convinced me. Katherine and the rest of the vampires died that night in a church the founding families set on fire. Stefan got Katherine killed and then convinced me to become a vampire. I have hated him since then. We've reconnected throughout the years, but those same issues always come up. I have loved Katherine from the first time I laid my eyes on her and I still love her. Stefan doesn't love her anymore. He's convinced that he never loved her, that all of it was just compelled. For him, it might have been, but I know my love for her was real, but he's drawn to Elena for a reason." Damon said with a little smile.

I sat silently listening to Damon tale. I was a little sad when he said he still loved Katherine, but what could be possibly get from her now. She's dead and she seems like she wasn't the nicest person around. "Why is he drawn to Elena?" I asked not so sure I wanted to know the answer. "You and Elena look exactly like Katherine. You three could be triplets if she hadn't been born in the 1400s." Damon explained. My mouth dropped. We looked like Katherine. How was that possible? "How?" That was all I could manage to ask. "I don't know. Maybe you're all doppelgangers." Damon said shrugging his shoulders. "Elena probably saw the picture of Katherine that Stefan keeps. That's why she wanted you to ask me about her." Damon said. I nodded because that was probably the thing making Elena upset.

Finally, we got to the place we were heading. It was a bar. "Damon, I'm only 17. How am I supposed to get in?" I asked. Damon gave me a look. "If anyone gives you trouble, I'll compel them to let you inside." He said. "You've talked about compulsion. What is it exactly?" I asked. "It's exactly what it sounds like. Vampires have the ability to compel people to do what they want, change memories. Stefan's not very good at it because he doesn't drink human blood, which is why he couldn't do it for Jeremy." Damon explained. "Can you do it to me?" I asked suddenly worried. Damon shook his head. "Nope. When Stefan gave Elena that necklace, he gave her a bracelet to give to you. It contains Vervain. It's a plant that for whatever reason stops any vampire tricks, it burns us, and weakens us to the point where we can be taken down pretty easily. That bracelet protects you from my compulsion." Damon explained. I nodded. "Okay, let's go in." I said feeling better.

We got in and Damon ordered some food and some drinks for us. The bartender came over to pour us our shots. "Damon Salvatore." The woman said. She was a talk, black woman. "Hello Bree. Long time no see." He said smiling. "Is she 21 Damon?" She asked eyeing me. "More or less." He replied. "Alright." She said pouring our shots. I took mine quickly. God, it felt good to have a drink after all that happened. Bree went to go tend to her other customers and our food came. Damon started scarfing down those nachos like there was no tomorrow. "How do you eat?" I asked. Damon looked confused. "Just like you." He replied giving me a weird look. "That's not what I meant." I said struggling to explain. "I know what you meant. As long as we keep a healthy diet of blood, our body works just as well as a human body and we can eat or drink anything. It numbs some of the cravings for blood that makes us want to rip out everyone's jugular." Damon replied. I nodded. "I see. Well that's good. It makes you look more human when you're able to eat and drink like a human." I said with a smile. "Exactly." Damon replied as we took another shot.

After I was officially drunker than I've ever been, I started playing pool with the other people in the bar. I saw Damon having a rather intense conversation with Bree. I wondered what it was about, but I didn't care much then. I was feeling a little sick so I went outside. Right as I walked outside, I was grabbed by a man. He was a vampire and I didn't know who he was. Not long after the vampire grabbed me, I heard Damon's voice calling my name. He saw me standing on my own and came over to get me. As he started walking, the vampire grabbed him. He jammed his hand into Damon's chest and it looked like he had a firm grasp on Damon's heart. "What do you want?" Damon asked through heavy breaths. "Revenge. You killed the woman I love." He said. "Who?" Damon asked a little cocky. I wish he wouldn't do that when he was so close to dying. "Lexi. She went to Mystic Falls to surprise Stefan and she never came back. I went there to investigate and found her dead. I know it was you." The guy yelled. "And since he killed the woman I love, I'm going to kill you in front of the woman you love." He said. Damon didn't say anything.

"Please." I said starting to cry. "Don't kill him. He did kill Lexi and he shouldn't have, but I don't think Lexi would want you to kill someone else's love because she's dead." I said. The guy looked at me. "I don't see how you can love someone as vile as him." He said. "Love is irrational. So irrational Lexi would turn you into a vampire just so she can be with you forever. You can't help who you love, it just happens. Please." I begged. I didn't want Damon to die. Sure he was in love with Katherine, but I knew deep down, I was in love with Damon. The guy started crying. "Lexi was a wonderful woman. I didn't know her well, but I'm very glad I was able to meet her, but I'm certain she wouldn't have wanted you to do this." I said walking toward them. The man let Damon go. "Fine, but Damon you are a terrible person and you don't deserve anyone's love." He said before disappearing.

I ran to Damon as he fell to the ground. "Thanks Zoey." He said. I smiled at him. "Sure. Did you get what you needed from here?" I asked. Damon nodded. "Fine, let's go find a hotel. We can head home in the morning." I said. Damon nodded again and we made it back to his car. We found a hotel in the area and got a room. It had two beds and a TV. "Thanks for coming with me Zoey. I'd probably be dead if it weren't for you." Damon said as he took off his shirt to get ready for bed. I stared at him. He had the most perfect body I had ever seen. I smiled at him when I got my senses back. "Thanks for bringing me. The time away from Mystic Falls has been helpful." I said. "I'm going to go take a shower. Do you have a shirt I can wear to bed?" I asked. Damon nodded and threw me a long sleeved shirt from his bag.

I went into the bathroom and took a nice, hot shower. I hadn't taken one since the accident and it was nice to feel the hot water on my sore muscles. I stayed in the shower for probably a half an hour. I was kind of nervous to go out there. I've never stayed the night anywhere with Damon. I wasn't scared at all. I guess I should have been. I mean just a couple days before that I watched him murder Lexi. I was just nervous because I had finally admitted to myself that I was in love with Damon when I know he wouldn't share those feelings.

Finally, I got out of the shower. I put on Damon's shirt. It was big which was good because it covered everything it needed to cover. I walked out of the bathroom slowly and got under the covers in my bed. Damon was laying on top of the covers on his bed looking up at the ceiling with his arms folded behind his head. I shut off the light. Damon could probably see really well in the dark so I didn't worry about shutting off the light. I laid there for a minute, but Damon didn't say anything. "Night Damon." I said as I turned around.

Damon still didn't say anything. "Katherine's still alive you know." He said after five minutes of silence. I was almost asleep by that time, but now I was wide awake. "How?" I asked. "I found out a couple decades ago that she was still alive. All the vampires that supposedly died in that fire were really put in a tomb they couldn't get out of. The church burned above it. That's what I came here for, to ask Bree how to open it so I could have Katherine back." He said quietly. "What do you have to do?" I asked feeling really sad. "I need a crystal and a Bennett witch since a Bennett witch is the one who put up the spell that keeps the vampires in." He replied. I nodded. "Bonnie. Do you have the crystal?" I asked. "Yes, that's why I needed to go to the Founder's Day party. I hid it in that house years ago. That's what I came back to Mystic Falls for and I heard Stefan was in town and I can never miss an opportunity to make him miserable." Damon replied. A couple tears rolled down my cheeks. "I don't know if Bonnie will help you, but I will help you get your Katherine back if I can." I said. "Thanks. Goodnight Zoey." Damon said and it went silent.

The next morning, Damon woke me up about an hour before we had to be out of the hotel. He packed everything and I got changed out of his long sleeved shirt. We hit the road and at first neither of us said anything to each other. I was thinking about our conversation last night. I wanted to help him get Katherine back because I wanted him to be happy. Damon seemed really unhappy and this is the only way to make him happy again. That's what you do when you love someone. I want him to be happy even if it's never with me. How would it have worked anyway? He will never age and I will grow old and unattractive one day while he stays perfect in his 23 year old body.

"Zoey?" I heard Damon ask. "Huh? Yeah?" I asked looking at him. "Where'd you go?" He asked looking at me. "Just into the depths of my mind where I do all my thinking and feeling sorry for myself." I said then instantly regretting it. "What were you thinking about?" He asked curiously. I laughed a little. "You don't want to know." I said. Damon didn't ask any more questions. "I was just going to say thank you for coming with me. I don't think I'd be making this trip back if you hadn't been here." He thanked me again for saving his life, but it was sort of a reflex. I couldn't just let him die. I couldn't watch that. Deep down, Damon was a good person. He had good intentions, he just went about them the wrong way.

I smiled back at him. I was glad I went on this trip with him. I was a little hurt to know Katherine was still alive and he was still in love with her because that would mean I would never have a chance. It was good for me to admit I was in love with Damon though, even if it was just to myself. I would consider Damon a friend and this is what friends do and for now I was okay with it.

We made it home not long after and I had this kind of bittersweet feeling about being home. I missed my bed and stuff, but I was enjoying the time I spent with Damon. It was Sunday though and I had to get ready to go back to school. Damon dropped me off and of course Elena jumped me as soon as I walked in the door and bombarded me with questions. I told her most of the story and went to bed. I laid in bed for a long time looking at the ceiling. My phone buzzed. I looked at it and saw a text from Damon. _I'm glad you came with me_ _. It was a nice trip and I wish it hadn't ended so quickly._ I sighed. Why did he have to sound all flirty when he was in love with Katherine? Then again, I'm sure he'd been with a lot of people while he's known Katherine was alive. He'd been with Caroline.

At first, I felt a twinge of jealousy, but then that went away. If I were ever with Damon, I wanted it to be because he wanted me and loved me and not because he was using me for something. I texted him back _. Thank you for taking me. I really needed to get away._ I sent it and went to sleep after that, getting ready for the new day, the new week that was laid before me.


	8. Chapter 8

I woke up early the next morning and got ready for school slowly because I had a lot of time. I ate breakfast methodically and left the house to walk to school before Elena was even up to see me. I walked slowly. Eventually Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie caught up with me in the hall as soon as I'd walked up to my locker. "I have to get to class." I said rushing off before any one of them could interrogate me. I walked into History class where we'd had a sub until we got a new teacher. Well, today we got a new teacher. He was a good looking man. He started talking so I could easily ignore Elena, Stefan, and Bonnie. "Hello. I'm your new History teacher. My name is Alaric Saltzman. I know it's a mouthful so you can all just call me Ric." He started off writing his name on the blackboard. The class and Mr. Saltzman seemed promising and he was already a lot better than Mr. Tanner had ever been. I felt my mind wander, thinking if Damon had to kill someone, it was better it was a waste of a human being like Mr. Tanner rather than an actual good person.

The class was good and Mr. Saltzman continued to get on my good side when he offered Jeremy an extra credit assignment so he was no longer failing. Jeremy took the assignment gracefully and wanted to get started right away on it. I think Damon put something into Jeremy's mind about doing better in school when he was in there. Even with the aversion I felt about messing with Jeremy's memories, I was glad Damon put that bit in there. Jeremy wanted to do his assignment on vampires in Mystic Falls. When he told me about it, my stomach clenched a little. "Of course, I don't mean real vampires, but the myth that they'd been here around the time the town was founded." He explained. I laughed a little and hoped it didn't sound too nervous. My stomach slowly unclenched. I smiled at him. "That's a great idea. It's a big part of our town's history." I said.

As the week went on, Jeremy started going through Dad's old things and he found some journals. He'd been looking through them and said he was using them on his paper he was writing for History when I asked. Jenna had said it was cool. Jenna also met Mr. Saltzman sometime during the week when Jeremy saw Ric at The Grill. Jenna was as thankful as I was that someone was giving Jeremy a break and a chance to get him back on track. I was hoping more would come out of that. I liked Ric and Jenna deserved someone who was a good person.

That week, Bonnie and Caroline had gotten in a fight over a necklace Damon had given Caroline. Damon wanted it back so Caroline was trying to get it back from Bonnie, but Bonnie didn't want to give it back to her or Damon for some reason. Caroline was still under Damon's compulsion. Bonnie had been wearing the crystal necklace since she got it.

Bonnie had been acting really weird since the whole thing with Emily happened at our house that night and I think it's that necklace. I had a feeling that Emily has been trying to tell her not to give the crystal to Damon. I'm sure Emily didn't want Damon to actually release all those vampires. What scared me more than Damon releasing the vampires was what Damon would do if Bonnie didn't give him that necklace. I knew sooner or later he would take it by force. Even with knowing Damon would do something like that to someone I know and love, it didn't change my feelings for him.

Bonnie had been really freaked out. In class, she had seen Emily and left class to follow her to Fell's Church. It turned out it was just a dream, but it was really freaking Bonnie out. She sat down to talk to Elena and I about it. We hadn't told anyone what we knew about Stefan and Damon. If Bonnie knew what they were, she wasn't saying.

Like I predicted, one night Damon followed Bonnie. She was going to the Fell's Church where the tomb was hidden underneath. I was the only one that knew about it besides Damon. Elena, Stefan, and I followed Bonnie there. Just when I thought Bonnie was going to give over the necklace, she threw it into the air and it smashed into millions of pieces. Damon screamed out and took his anger out on Bonnie. He bit her neck almost ripping it out and then disappeared. She would have died if Stefan hadn't given her his blood. Vampire blood had incredible curative properties. You just had to make sure not to die with it still in your system.

When Bonnie finally woke up, she was really confused about what was happening. Elena made the decision to tell Bonnie the truth about Stefan and Damon. She told Stefan she was going to tell Bonnie the truth. Stefan agreed. Things between them had been on the rocks since she found out about them. They were on again, off again, but she had finally decided she could and wanted to be with him. Stefan looked at her with an expression of relief, but also extreme sadness. "I'm going to find Damon and we are going to leave Mystic Falls. I love you, but we've brought so much evil here. We can't stay." He kissed her on the forehead and was gone. Elena looked defeated.

I was sad for Elena that Stefan was leaving and sad for myself that Damon was too. I felt sad for him as well. Despite what he did to Bonnie, I still felt sorry that he would never see Katherine again. It was the reason he was back. Now that it wasn't an option, why would he stay? It might have been for the best, but I knew our lives were better now that they were here than we were before. Damon had given me great advice that helped me a lot with the passing of our parents. I would miss him very much. Unfortunately, I had no one to talk to about it because I kept my feelings about Damon a secret from everyone. They wouldn't understand.

We walked back to Bonnie. While we sat on the damp Earth above a crypt full of vampires, Elena and I told Bonnie everything about vampires and about Stefan and Damon. She took it in stride. She wasn't all that surprised anyway. If you could believe in witches and knew them to be real, was believing in vampires really that far fetched? We took her home after that and went home ourselves. Jenna was asking about our day when a knock at the door came. Jenna answered and was surprised to see her ex-boyfriend Logan Fell at the door. She was not happy to see him and she slammed the door in his face. Elena and I looked at Jenna weird. She shrugged. "He's a jerk." She said before walking upstairs.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, Stefan shows up at school in the morning before the bell rang. Elena was surprised to see him. "There's another vampire in town. A woman was found last night. Be careful until we find out who it is." Stefan told her. "Are you sure it wasn't Damon. He was pretty upset after he almost murdered Bonnie last night." Elena basically spat back. Stefan shook his head. "No, it wasn't him. We aren't going to leave until we take care of this vampire though." Stefan told her before leaving.

Elena and I walk to class. There was a career fair at school today. I dreaded it. It was going to be a whole bunch of people pushing students to go one way or another. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Elena wanted to be a doctor. I don't think that had gotten sidelined when Mom and Dad died and that was good, but anything I had thought about went out the window. Our lives weren't normal anymore. I didn't know how I could go to college and start a normal job 9 to 5.

I went though and saw Jenna talking with Ric. That made me happy. When Elena and I walked up to her, she gave us a look. She rolled her eyes. "Logan is here." She said. Stefan had been walking in our direction. My guess was he was going to update us. Elena and I both noticed his expression go weird. He whispered to Elena. "Come on Jenna let's go. Don't talk to Logan anymore. He's no good." She said shuffling Jenna out the door. I wanted to ask what was up, but I guessed it was supernatural in nature, so I said nothing.

When Jenna was safely in her car and heading home, I ask Elena what was going on. "Stefan thinks Logan is the vampire. Damon apparently killed him." Stefan came up to us at that point. "Do you know where Logan is?" He asked us. We were about to tell him we didn't when Matt comes up to us. "Caroline left with Logan Fell." He said. Oh God. That wasn't going to be good. Stefan leaves to go find her.

We went home at that point with nothing else to do, but wait. Hours later, Stefan came to the house to let us know that Caroline is safe. "Thank you for finding her." I said before going upstairs. The window in my room faces the front of our house. I could hear Elena and Stefan talking downstairs. I heard Elena yell 'I love you' to Stefan. I smiled. I'm glad she found someone. I could see them through the window getting into her car. She was driving him home. I wondered if she was going to stay the night. I was trying to come up with a lie to cover for Elena when Damon appeared in my room.

"Did you kill Logan?" I asked. Damon looked down. I knew there was something he wanted to tell me, but he hesitated. "Uh, no. He told him the person who turned him knows another way to get the vampires out from under Fell's church. I couldn't kill him without knowing. Katherine is in there." I nodded. "I understand." I replied and I did understand. I had mixed feelings about it. He was another step to getting Katherine back and I was happy for him, but also sad and a little heartbroken. It also meant he wasn't leaving though, so I had more time, however brief, to spend with him.

"I meant what I said Damon. I will do whatever I can to help you get Katherine back." I told him. He smiled at me. "I know and thank you. I'm going to meet him now at Fell's Church. I'll let you know how it goes." He said before he disappeared out of my room. I sat heavily on my bed and laid down to sleep. I didn't sleep though and got a text from Elena not too much later. _Won't be coming home tonight. Cover for me please._ Just as I predicted.

Just as I was about to fall asleep again, my phone started ringing. "Hello?" I answered. It was Damon. "Someone killed Logan Fell." He said. I could hear both anger and sadness in his voice. It made my heart hurt. "Who could have killed him if it wasn't you or Stefan?" I asked. "I don't know. I got a call from Sheriff Forbes thanking me for killing him." Damon replied.

This just added another kink in everything. How could they leave even with the vampire gone. Now there was someone here who could kill vampires. It was either another vampire or a vampire hunter. Either could be bad news.


End file.
